Nationalism and History Writing by Nationalist Georgians

[Abkhaz World Newsletter]

2007 to Present: Contributors' Discussion on the Topic of "Colchis" on Wikipedia.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AColchis

See also: Greeks and "Georgians" in ancient Colchis, by Philip L. Kohl and Gocha R. Tsetskhladze
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One of the most distasteful aspects of the charges laid against the Abkhazians was that they were not the ‘true’ Abkhazians of history.

Prof. Eldar Mamistvalishvili, who held a doctorate in historical sciences, offered this "history-lesson" to Andrei Sakharov. (Open Letter in the Georgian paper Tbilisi of 28 August 1989 p. 3). In 1989 at the start of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict the late Academician Andrei Sakharov in one of his last articles called Georgia a ‘mini-empire’ (Ogonёk 1989, 31).

 

 

Translation:

The Abkhazian nationalists blame the Georgians for Stalin’s repressions and consider that the same policy towards them is continuing today too, arguing: “Georgians are persecuting and repressing Abkhazians”. The forebears of today’s Abkhazians began to settle on Georgia’s northwest Black Sea coast in the XVI-XVIIth centuries, and this process went on for a long time. Today the Abkhazians represent here only 17% of the population. False is their leaders’ assertion that they allegedly once formed the majority, whilst it was as a result of the Georgians’ colonising politics that they ended up in the minority. Historical science knows no such thing.

 

Zviad Gamsakhurdia was also one of those who contributed to the predictable backlash against Andrei Sakharov’s article. His Open Letter was published first in the Georgian paper Kartuli Pilmi ‘Georgian Film’ on 6 September 1989 (p. 2).

 

 

Translation:

 

But these days the Circassian tribe of Apswas, who are related to the North Caucasian Cherkess and who from the XVIIth century have been setting out to seize control of historical Abkhazia’s northern, mountainous part, to effect the assimilation of the Georgian population, and to take root there (see Academician N. Berdzenishvili Problems in the History of Georgia vol. VIII), are wrongly called ‘Abkhazians’ … Georgia was punished because it rejected Bolshevism; it said ‘no’ to, and threw out of its borders, the Bolshevik leaders, Stalin, Ordzhonikidze and others whom it deemed to be traitors to their motherland, and for this it was ‘punished’ to boot. Herein are the reasons, which you should have known, behind the creation of illegal autonomies on the territory of Georgia; herein is why the Abkhazian national minority was privileged by these leaders and the 17% of the population lords it over the remaining 83%. It was for this same reason that the Gagra and Sukhumi Regions, where the Abkhazians are only a certain percentage of the whole population, and the Gali Region, where Abkhazians have never lived and do not live now, were included within the makeup of Abkhazia.

 

See also: Zviad Gamsakhurdia: “Abkhaz Nation Doesn’t Exist!”

 

Unfortunately, this irrational belief, which remains prevalent among Georgians even today.

The full original documents will be published on AbkhazWorld soon.

 

 

 

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